Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on his 66th birthday, following allegations that he shared sensitive information with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK's trade envoy. Thames Valley Police confirmed the arrest on Thursday, after the release of millions of documents related to Epstein, which included messages between the two sent months after Mountbatten-Windsor claimed to have ended their friendship.
The arrest comes as pictures circulated online showing unmarked police cars at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, where plain-clothed officers gathered outside his home. The force had previously stated it was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor, which he has consistently denied.
Emails reportedly show that Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein were still exchanging messages until at least late February 2011, with the former prince writing: “Keep in close touch, and we’ll play some more soon.” As a result of the ongoing scandals, he was stripped of his remaining royal titles in October 2025 and forced to leave his Windsor home, Royal Lodge, to relocate to a smaller privately funded address in Sandringham.
The relationship with Epstein has increasingly made headlines, especially with the release of the Epstein files and Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir. In her book, Giuffre claims that Mountbatten-Windsor considered it his “birthright” to sleep with her when she was 17. He has always denied her allegations against him.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s ties to Epstein eventually forced him to step down from his royal duties, and in January 2022, he was stripped of his royal patronages. He has faced other scandals, including a “close confidante” being banned from the UK over allegations of being a Chinese spy. The former prince had already faced severe criticism for his continued association with Epstein, leading him to step down as trade envoy and acknowledge he made a mistake visiting the convicted paedophile.
